Wayne Name Game Has Tragic Ending in Orlando

The victims of another "Wayne" killer.

Within the "weird news" field, it has been a well-known truism that if a criminal has a middle name of "Wayne," no one in the newsroom is surprised he is being charged with murder. The examples are multiple. The most famous case, of course, is John Wayne Gacy.

An early correspondent of mine, Chuck Shepherd, has been a student of the Wayne "name game" for years. Here's what Chuck says about it, in an introduction to the topic:

The Classic Middle Name

It only occurred to me in the early 1990s that "Wayne" was a popular middle name among a few of the most heinous murderers of our time, e.g., the clown John Wayne Gacy (who killed almost three dozen boys and young men in the late 1970s and buried most of them beneath the floorboards of his Des Plaines, Ill., home) and Elmer Wayne Henley (sentenced to six consecutive life terms in 1974 in Houston for his role, with ringleader Dean Allen Corll, in the murders of 27 young men). I began to publish periodic lists in 1996, and soon readers made sure I never missed a one that made the news. Source, plus his impressively long list of names.

Orlando's Wayne Name Game

The most recent example occurred the day before the second anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre that left 50 (including the perpetrator) dead in Orlando, Florida.

It all began early on Monday, June 11, 2018, when 35-year-old Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr., a felon who was on probation for arson and other charges, shot a police officer in the eye. This occurred at an apartment complex, 4932 Eaglesmere Drive, off Kirkman Road, near Universal Orlando. Officer Kevin Valencia was wounded and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was in critical condition after surgery but expected to survive.

A standoff lasted nearly 24 hours, and it ended when Lindsey apparently shot the children he had taken as hostages — ages 1, 6, 10 and 11. No names of these victims have been released.

The gunman Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr. was discovered dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a closet when officers entered the apartment between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Eastern time, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said at a news conference just before midnight.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article212996364.html#storylink=cpy